In a cold pot, combine the bacon with the onions. Turn on the heat to medium, and stirring occasionally, cook until the bacon browns and the onions become translucent, 7 to 8 minutes.

Stir in the garlic, and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the red pepper flakes, carrots, fennel, plus a few good grinds of pepper, and continue cooking for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the beans, tomatoes, fresh thyme, stock, and ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt. Lastly stir in the kale. Increase the heat to high, bring to a simmer, then lower the heat until a slow simmer is achieved.

Cook for 30 minutes. Season to taste. Now at this point you may either go classic and add the bread to the soup, and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the bread thickens the soup, or simply serve the soup with a crostini on top, so that the soup begins to soften the bread. Or, do as I do, and serve the soup separately, with the crostini on the side. Dip the crisp bread as you choose. Either way, it’s all good! Using a vegetable peeler, serve with a few fresh shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano, with a good drizzle of oil to finish.

Chef Nathan Lyon is known for his simple, innovative cuisine featuring fresh, seasonal and local ingredients. You can find him on Growing A Greener Worldas well as shows on Veria Living, Discovery Health, Fit TV and TLC.

His first cookbook, Great Food Starts Fresh, is a seasonal exploration with recipes for the five seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter and...chocolate!

Comments

Made this soup recently and must say it is perfect! I don’t use fennel often and wondered how it would be, but it totally enhances the flavor, something celery (as a substitute) could never do. And I used veggie stock (not having any chicken stock on hand). Moves to my go-to recipe list now!! Many thanks.

The soup recipe sounds really good. I have a question about the fennel. You said in your video that the fennel adds a sweet taste but also a licorice taste? I don’t like licorice so can I either omit that ingredient or will the taste of the fennel change once it’s cooked? Hanks for your input.

This is the third recipe we have tried and, so far, we’ve enjoyed all three. We love the show, especially the cooking segment with Chef Nathan. Thank you for bringing the show, great ideas and easy, tasty recipes to us.

I made this because it looked so good on TV. The only addition is I added chicken pieces and omitted the bacon. Very hearty, especially for the cool weather in S.F. Thanks. I certainly will look at your other recipes, also.

Happy New Year, Joe, and Lena! Well … and everyone else involved in the GGW community, of course. I’m glad to hear that people are really enjoying my recipes. This one really has had some exceptional feedback. Mother Nature certainly gives us good reason to cook wonderful one-pot stews, doesn’t She? Just wait until you all see what I’m planning for season two!

Nathan, thank you for this delicious recipe. It was a cold and snowy day here in Wisconsin and I decided it would be the PERFECT day for homemade soup. My husband and I both said that this is a ‘make again’ soup.

Next time I make it I will brown the bacon alone, not with the onion. I would like to get the bacon browner. Adding the onion with the bacon kept the bacon from getting crisp. I will add the onion AFTER the bacon has browned. All in all this is a 5 star recipe.

That’s a fantastic soup, Nathan! Thanks for sharing. I saw the episode featuring this recipe this past weekend and tried it from memory. I had no idea what I was doing except for what you put in the pot and the order you put them in. Forgot the Love (Black Pepper & Salt) and the red pepper flakes. Didn’t have fresh thyme, so, I used dried thyme. Didn’t use the bread and couldn’t bring myself to buy the fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano used the plastic canned parmesan cheese instead. Got everything at the store but the maplewood smoked bacon but substituted three slices of smoked breakfast ham. It was so good!!! I’ll definitely have it again. Even without the Love, red pepper flakes, bread, and fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano, it had a truly wonderful flavor!

Being from VA, I hear you on the ham hocks, Lance. So great. Then toss in some corn bread? Ouch. Now that’s a meal. Also, Cristy? I’m so glad you enjoyed my recipe. The thing about Ribollita is that it’s classically thickened with old bread, so it’s normally a very thick soup/stew. That said, I hear you on adding more chicken stock, because I do love that last bit of flavorful liquid deliciousness in the bottom of the bowl, and a little more chicken stock would certainly do the trick! Enjoy.

We were going to try this with mustard greens and collards from cleaning up the garden today but had ham juice and ham hocks in the freezer so will go with greens instead. Will be trying this really soon though as it sounds wonderful.

Joan! You may use Swiss Chard in lieu of the kale, but given the delicate nature of the Chard, the mouth feel will no doubt be softer … let’s say, silky. Nothing wrong with that, right? I say go for it! And Bobbytiger? True that. It’s a goodie for the colder months. Case in point, my parents back in Virginia really enjoy my simple, yet delicious one-pot wonder, and I’m confident you will too. Thank you both for taking the time out of our day to share your messages with me. I really appreciate it! Enjoy.